Who Is The New CPIM General Secretary?

Veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader MA Baby has been elected as the new General Secretary of the CPI(M), taking over from Sitaram Yechury. The announcement was made during the party’s 24th Congress, which concluded in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

A prominent figure within the party, 71-year-old MA Baby is a member of the Politburo and has a long political career spanning decades. A former Rajya Sabha member from 1986 to 1998, he also served as Kerala’s Minister for Education and Culture between 2006 and 2011.

With this elevation, Baby becomes only the second leader from Kerala to hold the top position in the party’s history, following in the footsteps of EMS Namboodiripad, CPI(M)’s founding General Secretary and Kerala’s first Chief Minister.

Leaders React to MA Baby’s Appointment

Following the announcement, leaders across party lines extended their congratulations. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor lauded Baby’s character and leadership qualities in a social media post, writing, “Congratulations to my friend MA Baby on becoming CPI(M)’s General Secretary. He brings wisdom, integrity, and a humane approach that we all respect.”

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also shared his best wishes, praising Baby’s political evolution from student activism to state leadership. He said Baby’s career reflected unwavering commitment to progressive ideals and expressed hope for strengthened cooperation between the CPI(M) and DMK in their shared fight for secularism and federal values.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan acknowledged the leadership change by highlighting the Party Congress’s deliberations on national challenges. In a Facebook post, he remarked that the congress had provided a fresh strategic direction and reinforced CPI(M)’s commitment to social equity and justice.

A Lifelong Journey Through the Party Ranks

Hailing from Kollam district, MA Baby began his political career through student movements and rose through the ranks in the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and later the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI). His ascent within the CPI(M) has been marked by consistency and dedication to the party’s ideological values.

At the congress, a new 85-member Central Committee was constituted, which subsequently elected an 18-member Politburo. The newly formed Politburo includes prominent names such as Pinarayi Vijayan, BV Raghavulu, Tapan Sen, Nilotpal Basu, Md Salim, A Vijayaraghavan, Ashok Dhawale, Ramchandra Dome, MV Govindan, and several others, including Baby himself.

The leadership transition is seen as a pivotal moment for the CPI(M), as it prepares to recalibrate its strategy ahead of key state and national electoral battles.

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